My Life is Changing Every Day
by hopelessromantic0707
Summary: Quinn-centric one-shot set after the show's return in April. Quinn and Rachel friendship, Quinn/Puck with minor appearances by everyone else.


**Author's Note: I still do not own Glee; Fox does. All songs and musicals mentioned are the property of their respective owners, writers, etc. Enjoy! Reviews are always lovely as well. **

**Title is taken from "Dreams" by The Cranberries.**

Quinn was running late; she was always late these days. Grabbing her backpack off her bed, she shoved her AP English book, her Spanish homework, and the latest sheet music for glee-"The Guilty Ones" from _Spring Awakening_- into it as she ran down the stairs. There was a loud honk from a car idling in the driveway.

She yanked open the front door and screamed, "Keep your shirt on, Rachel! I'll be out in a sec." Sprinting into the kitchen, she found Jim, one of Rachel's dads, standing in front of her, proffering a travel mug.

"It's chai. I figured you wouldn't have much time to eat breakfast. This is better than nothing."

"Thanks, Mr. Berry," Quinn said. "I'm so glad I can have caffeine again. I don't know how I made it through nine months without it."

This statement seemed to jog her memory and she whirled around. In the corner of the kitchen, her baby girl was sitting contently in her pink and yellow striped bouncy chair (the only thing her parents had done to acknowledge the birth of their granddaughter was spend $40).

Quinn walked over, picked up her daughter and marveled at how the passage of time had already changed her. She would be six weeks old in two days and was already starting to have little conversations with herself. They weren't understandable, but she seemed to amuse herself. Everyone said she looked like Quinn, but when she looked at her daughter, Quinn could only see Puck. As if on cue, the baby began to squirm and brought Quinn back from her daydream.

"You ready to go, Gracie baby?" Quinn asked. "Sorry you had to wait so long, but Mommy is not a morning person."

Quinn had gotten Grace dressed an hour ago but could never seem to get herself ready in a timely fashion.

After putting the baby in her infant carrier, Quinn shouldered her backpack and Grace's diaper bag, grabbed the travel mug off the counter and ran out the door.

****

Rachel sat in the driver's seat of her Jetta looking more than a little peeved.

"Sorry, Rachel," Quinn breathed as she opened the passenger door and dropped her backpack on the seat. Rachel quickly got out and put Grace's things in the trunk before sliding behind the wheel once again.

Shifting Grace's carrier to her other arm, Quinn quickly unlocked one of the back doors, deposited the carrier on the far seat and buckled it securely before sliding in next to Grace.

"All set?" Rachel asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure they were both settled.

Quinn nodded and, putting the car in drive, Rachel carefully reversed down the driveway.

When the car was stopped at a red light a few minutes later, Grace started wailing. The movement of the car had put her at ease; without it, she was restless.

"Shhh…it's ok, Gracie," Quinn murmured, rubbing the baby's back, trying to soothe her. Nothing seemed to work; she had definitely inherited her father's stubbornness.

"She just needs her music. I forgot to put it on earlier," Rachel broke in. She immediately switched on her iPod and began scrolling through the songs. Finding the one she wanted after only a few seconds, Rachel selected it and music came blaring through the speakers.

_Oh, sweetheart, put the bottle down_

_You got too much talent_

_I see you through those bloodshot eyes_

_There's a cure, you've found it_

_Slow motion sparks_

_You've caught that chill_

_But boys will be boys_

_Oh, yes, they will_

_They don't want to define it_

Quinn smiled as Rachel caught her eye in the mirror and Grace slowly began to quiet. The baby loved music and, in an ironic twist of fate, her favorite song at the moment was "I Do Not Hook Up." Quinn was well aware that babies did not, could not, have favorite songs. She was mystified as to why this particular song always stopped Grace's tears.

Ten minutes and one lively rendition of "Party in the USA" later, Rachel pulled up in front of Springdale Childcare Center and helped Quinn get the baby and all the things she'd need for the day out of the car.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rachel asked cautiously, catching a glimpse of Quinn's unsure expression as she slammed her trunk shut.

"No, but it has to happen sometime, I guess," Quinn said resolutely. She grabbed the bags Rachel held out to her and, taking Grace's infant carrier off the seat, she made her way into the building.

****

As Quinn approached the infant daycare room, she felt a knot begin to form in the pit of her stomach and tears begin to prick her eyes. She couldn't believe she was getting this emotional already; she hadn't even dropped Grace off yet. While this was Grace's first day of daycare, Quinn had known it was coming for a while. Since Quinn had gone back to school, three weeks ago, Rachel's dads and Puck's mom had been great about watching Grace during the day. Quinn didn't want to impose on their generosity any more than was necessary.

"Quinn?" Mrs. Clark, the woman that oversaw the infant room, questioned gently.

Quinn shook her head slightly to help clear her thoughts before turning toward the older woman.

"Thank you so much for taking Grace on such short notice. I know there's a really long waiting list to get a spot."

"It's not a problem at all. Any friend of the Berrys' is a friend of ours," Mrs. Clark said, waving a dismissing hand. "I'll give you a few minutes to say goodbye before we go inside."

Quinn gently unbuckled Grace from her seat and picked her up.

"Mommy has to go to school now, Gracie," she whispered into the baby's ear. "I love you and I'll be back soon, okay?"

She nodded to Mrs. Clark, who had moved down the hallway to give them some privacy. The older woman carefully extracted Grace from Quinn's arms and held out a hand for the diaper bag.

Tears were already beginning to blur Quinn's vision. She missed the woman's outstretched hand completely, dropping the bag on the carpeted floor and scattering its contents.

As Quinn knelt and began putting things back in the bag, an unfamiliar object caught her eye. Picking it up, she saw that it was a CD. On the front was a star-shaped Post-it note that read:

Gracie:

Here's a little present to help you get through your first day of daycare. I put all your favorites on it. You'll do great!

Love,

Aunt Rachel

The note caused more tears to stream down Quinn's face. Rachel had been amazing over the last couple of weeks, offering support and advice and it was clear that she adored Grace.

Swiping at her eyes and trying to collect herself, Quinn finished repacking the bag. Silently handing it to Mrs. Clark, she pressed a kiss to Grace's head before turning to go back down the hallway.

****

Quinn got into the front seat of Rachel's car silently, with tears still running down her face. She looked up as Rachel squeezed her shoulder lightly in a gesture of comfort and gave her a watery smile.

As Rachel started the engine, Quinn stared out the window, thinking back to the last time she had been in this car without Grace, the day she'd gone into labor.

****

_Quinn had walked into practice that day and the tension in the room was stifling. _

"_I thought everyone made up already," she said nervously, afraid that the truce Puck and Finn had reached the week before was only temporary. _

_Rachel walked over and stood close enough to Quinn to whisper and still be heard._

"_Kurt has taken it upon himself to try and prevent Babygate 2.0."_

_Quinn's head snapped toward Rachel and her expression was one of utter confusion; she wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry._

_Rachel, oblivious to Quinn's reaction, continued to relay the story. "Matt asked Mercedes to dinner and, before she could answer, Kurt pulled a total 'Judy during A Star is Born.'"_

"_What? Rachel, I have no idea what that means and I'm really not in the mood to play games," Quinn sighed, putting her hands to her lower back in an attempt to ease the ache that had started during last period._

"_Judy Garland was always a diva but toward the end of her career, she was unbearable. A Star is Born was one of her last movies; she was notorious for throwing temper tantrums, threatening to fire everyone on staff…"_

_Rachel stopped short when Quinn threw her hands up in exasperation._

"_Sorry…Kurt went postal. He started ranting about how everyone in Glee was pairing up-you and Puck, Finn and I, Mike and Brittany, Artie and Tina- and how all the stress was giving him an ulcer or ruining his skin, I'm not exactly sure. All this was punctuated by shrieking, hand gestures and throwing his binder," Rachel finished with a flourish._

"_No one is talking to each other?"_

"_Not for the moment at least," Rachel said. "We were all kind of scared into silence."_

_Quinn nodded, slowly making her way over to where Kurt was sulking in the corner._

"_Quinn, don't…" Rachel started, hoping to make her rethink her plan of action. _

_Quinn would not be swayed. She marched up, stopped three inches from Kurt's face and spoke in a voice like ice._

"_Listen up, Kurt. If you want to act like Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor or some other old bag, do it on your own time, okay? My due date is in two days! It'd be awesome if I could learn the choreography before…" she looked down and gasped in surprise, "…that happens."_

_Kurt followed Quinn's gaze, let out a "Holy God in heaven" and fainted dead away._

"_Thanks for all the help, Kurt," Quinn managed to get out through gritted teeth as a contraction hit._

"_Can someone help over here?" Quinn asked, turning to face everyone._

"_Oh no, I know he did not just faint. That boy needs to man up," Mercedes laughed. "Someone getting all up in your face ain't that scary."_

"_Mercedes!" Quinn screamed. The shrill, desperate tone of her voice got Puck's attention and he sprinted over and put an arm around her._

"_What's up?" he asked, eyebrows knitting together in concern. _

_Before she could get any words out, Quinn doubled over, grabbing onto Puck's arm for support as a contraction washed over her._

_Puck immediately swung into action. It seemed the days of "I think we're supposed to get hot towels" were long gone._

"_Rachel, did you drive to school today?" he questioned hurriedly. _

"_Yeah, I'll drive you to the hospital," she said, grabbing her keys and running to start her car._

"_Tina, let Mr. Schue know where we went when he gets here."_

"_No problem. Good luck you guys," Tina enthused._

_As Puck began helping Quinn to the door, she seemed to remember something. Turning to Finn, she asked quietly, "Could you call my parents, please?" _

"_Sure," Finn replied easily, no anger evident in his voice._

"_Someone should check on Kurt, too," Quinn added._

"_I got that," Mercedes said, bending next to Kurt. "Now get outta here."_

_Walking down the hallway, Quinn heard Brittany ask, "Is anyone else like totally grossed out that Quinn peed on the floor?" followed by a snort of laughter from Artie. _

_Puck pushed open the front door of the school, attempting to guide Quinn to Rachel's car, which was at the curb. They were about two feet away when Quinn started to sink toward the sidewalk, crying out at the pain of her latest contraction. Puck carefully slid one hand under her knees and another behind her back, scooping her off her feet with little effort._

_Puck slid Quinn carefully into the front seat, buckling her seatbelt securely. Rachel leaned across Quinn and shut her door while Puck deftly vaulted himself into the back seat. After making sure everyone was ready, Rachel sped in the direction of the hospital. _

"_What is this shit, Berry?" Puck asked, referring to the music emanating from Rachel's sound system._

"_It's the OBC recording of 'I'm Alive' from the Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal," Rachel explained. "It's not shit, far from it, actually. Aaron Tveit is one of the most talented people to hit Broadway in quite a while."_

"_How you doing, Quinn?" Puck asked, eager to change the subject and stop Rachel's lecture._

"_Ok, I guess," she answered slowly, keeping her breathing steady, as if that would keep any future contractions at bay._

"_We're almost there," he assured her, looking pointedly at Rachel._

"_Correction, Noah," Rachel said brightly, pulling up to the entrance of the hospital. "We're here!" _

_****_

_Eleven hours, a thousand obscenities, and one promise never to have sex again later, Grace Eleanor Fabray-Puckerman made her way into the world. _

_The nurses cleaned her up, dressed her and wrapped her in the obligatory pink receiving blanket before she was given back to Quinn. _

_Looking into her daughter's dark brown eyes, Quinn could barely remember what life had been like without her, despite the fact that it was less than twenty-four hours ago._

"_You did good, Quinn," Puck whispered into her hair while he took in Grace's tiny features._

"_Thanks, but if it's ok with you, I'm not doing this again for ten or fifteen years," she murmured._

"_You get some rest. I can watch her for a while."_

_Puck gently leaned over Quinn and lifted the baby out of her arms, careful to support her head as the nurse had shown him earlier. _

_The last image Quinn saw before her eyes drifted closed was Puck cradling the baby, singing softly to her:_

_I guess you'd say_

_What can make me feel this way_

_My girl_

_****_

"Quinn?" Rachel questioned, bringing her out of her reverie.

Quinn saw that they were in the parking lot of the school.

Reaching into her backpack, she dug around for her mascara; she had forgotten to wear waterproof today. She came up empty and let out a frustrated breath. Today was not going to be her day.

****

Quinn walked to the choir room with a slight bounce in her step. The day had been exhausting, as most school days were, but definitely not as bad as she had predicted that morning. Now all she had left was Glee practice, which was always entertaining. She and Rachel were going to pick up Grace after practice and grab a bite to eat because her dads were working late.

"How was the rest of your day?" Puck greeted as she walked into the room. As she took a seat beside him, he handed her a chocolate chip bagel with raspberry cream cheese. She smiled and thanked him.

Baseball practice was Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; On Thursdays, Puck had a free hour between the end of school and Glee, so he made a snack run, Panera for Quinn and two Big Macs from McDonald's for him. It was a weekly ritual.

"It got better," Quinn answered, taking a bite of her bagel. "I'm really sorry about this morning."

****

Puck thought back to the beginning of the school day. He'd been getting a notebook out of his locker when Quinn had walked in the door. He saw her walk over to her locker, open it, and take nothing out.

A few seconds passed and she didn't emerge so Puck ambled over.

The closer proximity offered a better view and he could see Quinn's shoulders shaking under cover of the metal locker door. He put a hand on her arm and slowly turned her around to face him.

Quinn was a mess. There were tears running down her face, her nose was running a little and the prolonged crying had given her the hiccups.

Puck didn't care about any of that. He wanted to say something, anything, to stop her tears; he hated seeing her upset.

"Hey, did something happen?" Puck asked, ready to deal with whoever had caused Quinn's meltdown with whatever force was necessary.

Quinn shook her head rapidly, eyes fixed, unblinking, on the scuffed tile floor of the hallway.

"Quinn, you know you can tell me whatever it is, right?" he said, tilting her chin up so that she was looking at him. "I know I may act like a jerk sometimes but you can talk to me."

"It's stupid," Quinn whispered. "I'm just having a really hard time with the fact that I left Grace at daycare. She's only six weeks old."

"She'll be fine, Quinn," Puck assured, pulling her into a hug. "She's a Puckerman; we kick asses and take names if we need to."

Pulling out of the hug, he slung an arm around her shoulder and they walked to class together.

****

Quinn finished the last of her bagel and asked, "Do you want to go over the song once before everyone gets here?"

"Sure," Puck said around a mouthful of Big Mac.

"Disgusting," Quinn muttered, wrinkling her nose.

"You know you love it," he said, getting up and grabbing his guitar from the corner. He plucked a few strings to get it in tune before looking in Quinn's direction. "Ready?"

She nodded and his fingers eased over the opening notes of the song.

_Something's started crazy_

_Sweet and unknown_

_Something you keep_

_In a box on the street_

_Now it's longing for a home_

Puck moved to the chorus, knowing that it was the most difficult part, and his voice melded with Quinn's.

_And now our bodies are the guilty ones_

_Our touch will fill every hour_

_Huge and dark _

_Oh, our hearts will murmur the blues from on high _

_Then whisper some silver reply_

As Quinn finished the song, she realized that although her life had changed in the past two months, the change wasn't for the worse. She was surrounded by love and support and that was what made life worth living.


End file.
